Kite parachute carrier



Oct. 25, 1966 T. F. CONWAY 3,281,099

KITE PARACHUTE CARRIER Filed July 15, 1964 INVENTOR.

THOMASECONWAY ATT'YS United States Patent 3,281,099 KITE PARACHUTE CARRIER Thomas F. Conway, Springfield, Pa., assignor to Delmont D. Brown, North Baltimore, Ohio Filed July 15, 1964, Ser. No. 382,717 7 Claims. (Cl. 244-455) This invention, in general, relates to accessories for kites and, more particularly, pertains to wind-impellable devices adapted to be carried under the urging of wind up a kite string. The invention has particular relation to accessories embodying a frame structure adapted to travel along a kite string and releasably hold a parachute or the like, which is released when the frame strusture contacts a stop mounted on the kite string, and freely floats or falls to earth.

Sailing devices adapted to sail up a kite string, and kite parachutes in particular, have in general been known for many years. Examples of such devices may be found in the following United States Letters Patents: 620,596, 1,202,595, 1,746,157, 2,689,699, 2,833,497, 2,936,545, and 2,983,471. The present invention relates to improvements in kite accessory structures of this character.

The kite accessory of the present invention in its most preferred form embodies a tube adapted to be mounted over the kite string. The tube comprises the slide member which slides along the kite string. In a preferred form of the invention, the kite accessory embodies a structure attached to the tube and which releasably holds the small, lightweight, toy parachute or other wind-impellable device. The kite accessory is freely slidable on the kite string, and wind pushing against the billowed canopy of the attached parachute, for example, pulls the accessory up the kite string toward the flying kite. A trigger-type mechanism is provided on the accessory in association with the strncure for releasably holding the parachute or other device so that at a predetermined point, at which is provided a stop member, the parachute or other device is released, permitting it to float or fall back to earth. The kite accessory, free of the parachute or other windimpellable device, may slide back down the kite string by virtue of its own weight.

An important object of the invention is to provide a kite accessory for use with a flying kite which transports a toy parachute or like device to a predetermined height on the kite string and, at this point, releases the parachute or device, permitting it to float freely to earth.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a kite accessory utilizing a tube, preferably having flared ends, as the string-slide device on a wind-impella-ble type accessory.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a kite accessory which can be repeatedly used on a flying kite without lowering the kite for operation of the accessory.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a kite accessory adapted to be impelled up a kite string by a billowed parachute or the like and improved mechanism for releasably holding the parachute and triggering the release of the parachute when the accessory reaches a predetermined position on the kite string.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention may be realized by practice of the invention according to the generic concepts herein disclosed, which concepts are further illustrated with reference to specific embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flying kite with a parachute accessory travelling up the string;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are, respectively, side elevations of the accessory plus the parachute weight and swivel just prior to and immediately after contact with a stop member on the kite string;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the accessory and a fragment of the parachute;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the stop member; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are side elevations of other embodiments of kite accessories of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a kite 10 flying on the end of the kite string 11. A disc-shaped stop 12 is mounted on the kite string, preferably adjacent to the kite. The stop 12 is mounted on the kite string by providing in the disc-shaped stop a radial slit 13 into which the kite string may be inserted so that the kite string is at the approximate center of the disc. The stop 12 is lightweight, and for purposes of the invention, preferably is made of a foam thermoplastic resin such as foamed or cellular polystyrene or the like.

The kite accessory 15 comprises a frame structure with slide means adapted to receive and slide along a kite string. In the preferred form, this frame structure includes a tube 16 made of lightweight material such as a thermoplastic or thermosetting polymer. The ends 17 of the tube 16 are flared so that the outer edges of the tube 16 do not catch on knots or other protrusions on the kite string as the tube 16 travels up the kite string. The tube 16 has an end-to-end slot 18 extending through the wall thereof, which slot is wide enough to allow a kite string to pass therethrough. The slot 18 thus enables the user to insert the kite string into the tube or to remove the kite string from the tube at any point along the string.

The slot 18 may be provided in any portion of the wall of the tube 16 except that portion which is at or immediately adjacent to the top of the tube in the orientation shown in the drawings. The slot 18 preferably is provided in the lower portion of the tube.

A dowel or tube forming a post 19 is mounted in the tube 16 and extends radially from the tube 16. The end 20 of the post 19 may project a small distance into the tube, and the post 19 is secured to the tube 16 by means of a friction fit, adhesive, heat sealing, or any other suitable means. The post 19 may be made of a thermoplastic resin or wood or any other suitable material.

The post 19 serves as a mounting member for the wire, parachute-holding and release device 21. Like the other components of the kite accessory, the device 21 is lightweight. It is, preferably, made of relatively stiff music wire. For mounting the parachute-holding and release device on the post 19, there is provided near the bottom of said post an upper hole 22 and a lower hole 23 extending transversely through the lower end of the post. The upper hole 22 serves as a pivotal mounting means for the lower end of wire arms 25, 26, which extend forwardly and upwardly in substantially parallel relationship on opposite sides of the post 19. The arms 25 and 26 are joined together by a cross arm or bar 27 spaced inwardly from the outermost end of the arms 25, 26 and by a second wire arm or cross bar 28 mounted across the outer ends of the arms 25, 26.

The wire structure composed of arms 25, 26 and cross bars 27, 28 is pivotally mounted on the post 19. The pivotal movement in the forward and downward direction is restricted by providing a pair of wire arms 29, 39 extending rearwardly from the outer ends of the arms 25, 26 on opposite sides of post 19. The rearward end of the arms 29, 30 have a wire cross bar 31 which extends across the rear of the post 21 and thereby stops the aforesaid wire arm structure from pivoting beyond the point where the cross bar 31 cont-acts the post 19.

The aforesaid wire frame structure is pivotable upwardly and rearwardly about the pivot points provided by the holes 22 to a point where the wire structure contacts the tube 16. In the downward and forwardmost pivoted position of said wire structure, the unit is in a position whereby a parachute can be held by said wire structure and a latching bar 32 pivotally supported in the hole 23 at the lower end of the post 19. Latching bar 32 preferably also is made of music wire. It has a segment 33 spaced from the arms 25, 26 to provide a space 34 in which can be caught the weighted end of the parachute. The outer end of the latching bar 33 comprises a short, end segment 35 at the end of a bent segment 36 of the latching bar or wire 32. The end segment 35 is oriented so that it lies against the cross bar 27 when the wire frame structure is in the forwardmost and downwardmost pivoted position (FIG. 2). When the wire frame structure is pivoted upwardly and rearwardly, the end 35 falls free of the cross bar 27 and the latching bar 32 pivots downwardly, thereby releasing the parachute held between the latching bar 32 and the arms 25, 26 (FIG. 3). I

The parachute 37 comprises a 'billowable, parachute sheet 38 having shroud lines 39. The shroud lines and the sheet 38 may be both made of a thermoplastic material or cloth or any other suitable, lightweight, preferably flexible mate-rial. lines 39 are made of a thermoplastic material or of cloth strips, the shroud lines may be formed as an integral part in the cutting of the sheet 38. They may be also separate strips of thermoplastic material or cloth secured by heatsealing, stitching or other suitable means to the edges of the sheet 38. The sheet 38 may be rectangular, round or any other suitable shape. Shroud lines 39 may also be string, cord, etc.

The lower ends of the shroud lines 39 may be bent back upon each other and the bent back portion held in a tube or sleeve 40. The loop formed by the lower ends of the bent back shroud lines may be attached to a swivel 41, which may be a swivel of the character used on fishing lines or any other suitable swivel. The swivel has attached to its opposite end a weighted member 42. The purpose of providing the swivel is to prevent the shroud lines from twisting as the billowed parachute drags the kite accessory up the kite string. It has been found that billowed parachutes tend to twist as they rise along the kite string and thus entangle the shroud lines and possibly even collapse the parachute. To prevent this twisting, the parachute is held between the latching bar 32 and the arms 25, 26 so that the swivel is on the same side of the space 34 as is the parachute, thereby allowing the swivel to function.

. The illustrated wind-impellable device is a parachute. It will be appreciated, however, that the other windimpellable devices can be releasably held by the triggered mechanism of the accessory. For example, instead of the parachute, the device may be a lightweight relatively rigid strip, e.g., a balsam wing or a toy glider with its wing (or the strip) held crosswise in space 34 so that the wing acts as a sail. When the triggered wire frame cont-acts stop member 12, the strip flutters to earth, or the glider glides to earth. Other sail type devices can be similarly carried up thekite string and released.

In FIG. 6 there is shown another embodiment of the kite accessory of the invention employing the triggered wire frame heretofore disclosed. In this embodiment the carrier structure 43 is made from wire bent into the appropriate shape to provide the structure for slidably supporting the accessory on a kite string.

The wire frame is bent to provide a vertical leg 44 having a loop 45 at its upper end. The wire frame 44 further comprises a leg 46 at right angles to the vertical leg 44, juxtapositioned, downwardly depending, legs 47 and 48, leg 51 coaxial with leg 46, vertical leg 52 and loop- 53 at the upper end thereof. The aforesaid legs and loops can be made by appropriately bent single piece of wire. Legs 47 and 48 lie side by side and are formed with small arches near the lower ends thereof to provide round holes 49 and 50 in which are pivotally mounted the lower ends of arms 25, 26 and latching bar 32, respectively. The parachute holding mechanism and release mechanism in In the case where the shroud the embodiment of FIG. 6 is substantially as heretofore described, and reference is made to the previous description for the identity of the component parts of the parachute holding and release mechanism.

The embodiment of FIG. 7 is structurally similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4. The essential difference is that the tube forming the slide member slides along the kite string and the vertical leg on which is supported the parachute holding and release mechanism is made from a single tube 55 with a substantially right angle bend 56 therein.

The passage 57 in one of the legs of the bent tube comprises the tubular member which slides along the kite string. The outer corner of the bend 56 is drilled to provide an aperture 58 through the outer wall of the bend, which aperture communicates with and is an extension of the passage 57. The bent tube is provided with an axially extending slot 59 extending from the aperture 58 to the opposite end of the horizontal leg of the bent tube 55, into which slot the kite string may be inserted for mounting or removing the accessory on a kite string. The lower end of the other, vertical leg is provided with two holes 60 and 61, corresponding to the holes 22 and 23, in which are pivotally mounted the arms 25, 26 and latching bar 33, respectively.

The foregoing embodiments are exemplary structures embodying the generic principle of the invention herein disclosed andclaimed. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed through' and extending through the wall thereof, a post extending laterally from said tube, pivotable wire means pivotally mounted on said post for releasably holding a parachute and including means operable by pivoting of said wire means upon contact of said wire means with a stop member mounted on a kite string to release said parachute from said Wire means.

2. A kite accessory comprising a frame structure with slide means adapted to receive and slide along a kite string, a first pivotable arm member pivotally mounted on said frame structure below said slide means, means restricting the degree of pivotal movement of said pivotable member, a second, .pivotable arm member pivotally mounted on said frame structure below said first arm member, the space between said arm members adapted to receive and hold a wind-impellable device when said arm members are juxtapositioned, and coacting means on said arm members holding them in juxtaposition and being disengaged when said accessory contacts a stop on a kite string, thereby allowing said arms to separate to release said wind-'impella'ble device.

3. A kite accessory comprising a tube, a post extending downwardly from said tube, a stiff frame structure including a pair of stiff parallel, upwardly and forwardly extending armsconnected by a cross bar, the lower ends of said parallel arms being pivotally mounted in the lower portion of said post, means limiting the forward and downward pivotal movement of wire frame structure, an additional arm pivotally mounted on said post below said parallel arms and the outer end of said additional arm resting on said cross bar when said frame structure is in the forwardmost and downwardmost pivoted position and becoming free from said cross wire when said frame structure is pivoted upwardly and rearwardly.

4. An accessory as claimed in claim 3 wherein said means is a wire, frame structure extending rearwardly from the outer end of said parallel arms and positioned about said post.

5. An accessory as claimed in claim 2 wherein said wind-impellable device is a parachute having shroud lines connected to swivel means.

6. An accessory as claimed in claim 2 wherein said frame structure is a bent Wire frame structure having loops at the upper end thereof adapted to receive and slide along a kite string.

7. A kite accessory as claimed in claim 2 wherein said frame structure comprises a hollow tube with a substantially right angle bend therein, the outer side of said bend having an aperture communicating with the axial pas sage in one of the legs of said bent tube, and the wall of said leg having a slot wide enough to allow a kite string to pass therethrough and extending from said aperture to the opposite end of said leg.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,203,086 6/1940 Doer-r 244-155 5 3,023,988 3/1962 Christian 244155 FOREIGN PATENTS 151,705 5/ 1904 Germany.

MILTON BUCH-LER, Primary Examiner. 10 ALFRED E. CORRIGA'N, Examiner. 

1. A KITE ACCESSORY COMPRISING A TUBE WITH AN END-TO END SLOT WIDE ENOUGH TO ALLOW A KITE STRING TO PASS THERETHROUGH AND EXTENDING THROUGH THE WALL THEREOF, A POST EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM SAID TUBE, PIVOTABLE WIRE MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID POST FOR RELEASABLY HOLDING A PARACHUTE AND INCLUDING MEANS OPERABLE BY PIVOTING OF SAID WIRE MEANS UPON CONTACT OF SAID WIRE MEANS WITH 